Advance Review: Edison Crane Returns, But With Competition In ‘Prodigy: Icarus Society’ #1

Edison Crane is a clever fella. And all-round athlete too. And that’s what a lot of Prodigy: Icarus Society #1 recounts for anyone possibly new to this character. He even goes as far as almost claiming to be as fast as a cheetah at one point as we are witness to a life of training, academia, and invention and amassing a vast fortune at a very young age too. So what can possible best him? Well, step forward the titular Icarus Society. But, who or what they are I will leave to you, the reader, to find out, should you chose to pick up this new series by Millar and incoming artist, Matteo Buffagni. 

What I can tell you is that there is plenty of that trademark Millar violence and ridiculous but dangerous super villains, in this case one Doctor Lucius Tong. A man with, quite possibly, an intellect to equal Crane’s own. Add to this a plot line that jumps around from one point in time to another, and we have more than enough to intrigue the reader in this new debut issue.

Buffagni’s art is clean, crisp and quite realistic when depicting the various environments displayed across this issue. The colours of Laura Martin help delineate one scene from another very well as well as help establish the shifting tones too, although the narrative also helps in that department. There is no confusion in the way Millar sets out his non-linear narrative, but it’s this structural device that helps deliver the surprises and reveals effectively across the book. The introduction of the Icarus Society, hardly no more than a name, creates the intrigue and mystery that suggest Crane is in for the testing of his life thus far. Already but the eight richest man in the world, as revealed here, is he now less than the smartest too? Time, and the remainder of this series, will tell.

Prodigy: Icarus Society #1 is out Wednesday 6th July from Image Comics